A Better Reason to Fall in Love (18 page)

“Really?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “Do Ginger then….from
Gilligan’s Island
. I dare you.”

Tabby smiled, shaking her head. “I’m warning you. It’s an easier one than you might think.”

“Then prove it,” he challenged.

“Okay…but you asked for it.” Tabby inhaled a deep breath. “Few people know that in 1965 an episode of
Gilligan’s Island
premiered called ‘Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy.’”

“So, your sexy redhead Ginger—aka Tina Louise—was in
Gilligan’s Island
with Kurt Russell,” Tabby began. “And here’s where it gets really interesting—though it was not in the movie credits when they rolled. Kurt Russell played the voice of Elvis in
Forrest Gump
…so Tina Louise was with Kurt Russell in
Gilligan’s Island
, Kurt Russell was in
Forrest Gump
with Tom Hanks…and Tom Hanks was in
Apollo 13
with Kevin Bacon.”

Instantly, Jagger began to laugh. He was entirely entertained.

“I guess if you don’t like the ‘uncredited voice of Elvis’ thing,” Tabby thought out loud, however, “I could go with Kurt Russell was in
Sky High
with Kelly Preston, who was in
For the Love of the Game
with Kevin Costner, who was in
JFK
with…”

“Kevin Bacon!” Jagger exclaimed, still laughing.

“But then again, Kurt Russell was in
Tombstone
with Bill Paxton, who was in
Apollo 13
with Kevin Bacon too. So there are really a ton of ways to get Ginger to Kevin.”

“It’s not really that funny,” Tabby said—though her heart was pounding so furiously with elation at his teasing her about thinking he loved her because of her stupid Kevin Bacon gift, she could hardly breathe.

“It’s awesome!” he argued. “Seriously! How funny. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Seriously?”

Tabby shrugged.

“It’s just playing on the whole human web thing, that’s all,” she said. “I mean, you can do it with people too. Look at my friends at work—Jocelyn and Armando, for instance. Just the other day we were saying—”

She let her words trail off, realizing too late that she’d said too much.

“What do you mean?” he asked, wiping moisture from his eyes. “What about Armando?”

Tabby stood and went to sit on the couch once more. There was no avoiding the line of conversation now. She’d opened her big mouth and would have to explain.

“Well, remember awhile back, when you were having lunch at the Acapulco with David Lowery and his brother?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, Jocelyn was already all gaga over Armando then…even though they hadn’t even been out together,” she began. “However, after I stopped and talked to you—found out that you knew Armando, met David’s brother the college professor—I went back to the table, and we were talking about it.”

He waited for her to continue, and she was astounded to see that he seemed entirely intrigued. So she continued. “Well, you knew Armando before he moved here to start his restaurant…and that in itself is weird. But add to that this. That professor, David Lowery’s brother? My friend Naomi has been reading his poetry for years! She had tickets to go to his lecture that very night. They met…and Naomi is long-distance dating the dashing Professor Lowery. To make it even weirder, Professor Lowery teaches at Boston University…which is where my friend Emmy’s boyfriend, who is now a soldier in Iraq, went to college before he enlisted. So your friend Armando, Professor Lowery, and Emmy’s soldier are all connected. And Jocelyn, Naomi, and Emmy are all connected…and we all work with you. Weird, huh?”

“Wicked weird,” he mumbled as his smile faded and a frown puckered his brow. “How can that be?”

Tabby shrugged. “It just the six degrees of separation theory…proved, I guess. Though I still haven’t been able to connect myself to Kevin Bacon.”

Jagger chuckled, and Tabby was glad she’d been able to make him smile again.

Jagger studied the pretty redhead sitting across from him on the couch. He’d always been attracted to her—always thought she was too attractive for her own good. But now—now that he’d seen her outside the office a couple of times—well, every nerve in his body wanted to reach out and fuse with every nerve in hers! He was quiet for a moment, contemplating everything that had transpired over the past couple of hours. The storm—her revealing her phobia of driving in snow to him. He liked her house; it was warm, cozy, well-decorated. He liked her music—liked that she had Diana Krall on her iPod. He loved her crazy Kevin Bacon obsession; it was so random and took a great deal of nostalgic brain power. Furthermore, she’d liked his Frito pie. He smiled as he studied her. Things were bouncing around in his mind: ideas, considerations—desires.

Jagger quickly studied her attire. She always looked so professional and gorgeous at work, and she’d looked good enough to wrestle to the ground and ravage at the restaurant the other night. But her present manner of dress—her little fuzzy pink slippers, plush pink sweatpants with the words “Beach Bum” embroidered across the seat, and simple white knit shirt—was perhaps his favorite of all. He thought he’d like to grab a blanket, roll them up together in it, and…

“You can watch TV if you want,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t need TV for entertainment. You’re here.”

He glanced up to the clock on her wall. It was only seven, and he had a hard time going to sleep before midnight, even on work nights. He wondered what time she usually went to bed. He glanced over Tabby’s shoulder to the window. The snow was blowing thicker than ever. Yep, he was stuck—stuck in a fantasy that revolved around having the dead-sexy redhead from work sequestered all to himself.

“Okay,” Tabby agreed, though she wondered how he could possibly find her more entertaining than TV. She’d obviously milked her stupid Kevin Bacon game for all it was worth. Now what? “So what do you want to talk about?” she asked out of sheer desperation.

“Okay then,” Tabby said, smiling at him. “Egg salad it is. I feel fine about it. I like it, actually. It always reminds me of Easter.”

Jagger chuckled. “Easter?”

“Yeah, Easter,” Tabby confirmed.

As she proceeded to tell Jagger why egg salad reminded her of Easter, she tried to ignore the wave of marvelous joy washing over her. Jagger Brodie was right there—right in front of her—sitting on her couch listening to her tell him why she liked egg salad. It was surreal! And yet, Tabby decided she would bathe in every wonderful moment spent with him. Tomorrow would come, the storm would be gone, and he’d go back to being the unobtainable model at work, to be admired from afar. He’d go back to being the totally hot blues performer at Sweet Genevieve’s. But for now he was stuck with her, and he didn’t really seem to mind—yet.

She’d enjoy him—that’s what she decided. Tomorrow might whisk him back to his other life, but for now, he was there—sitting across from her on the couch, looking more delicious than a gallon of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream—more delicious than anything. Yep, her mouth was actually watering!

❦

Jagger grinned as he watched Tabby sink lower into her side of the couch. She was so tired—it was obvious—yet she wasn’t about to leave him to be bored. What a perfect little hostess, even if the guest she was entertaining had been forced on her.

Jagger glanced to the clock on the wall. It was midnight. He wasn’t really very tired, but he could see that Tabby was. As much as he didn’t want to give up her company, he knew he should. His smile broadened as a list of all the things they’d discussed over the past several hours rolled through his head. They’d discussed not only egg salad,
Gilligan’s Island
, Kevin Bacon, and the human web theory, but she’d revealed to him the reasons for her driving-in-snow phobia, how she and her sister lived together in the house their grandmother used to own, where she went to school, and how she landed her current job. In turn, he’d told her about being born in New Orleans, that his family had moved to Phoenix when he was a teenager, and that Armando was a great guy and she should feel confident in her friend being involved with him. They’d discussed politics, history, movies, music, and a myriad of other topics.

In retrospect, the subjects they’d covered in conversation were overwhelming. Yet he’d loved Tabby’s contributions—entirely agreed with her opinions. Oh, he’d crushed on her from afar for quite some time, but now that he was getting to know her—well, he knew this girl had him hooked. He wondered if she liked him enough to try and reel him in. He hoped so.

Jagger was proud of himself too. Here he was, spending the night isolated with a beautiful woman—a woman he was dangerously attracted to—but so far he had managed to keep his flirting to a minimum. It was difficult, for he really enjoyed the way she blushed whenever he did say something flirtatious. But he didn’t want to end up pouncing on her like a hungry panther and ruin his chances. She was a good girl—he could tell. And though he was a man with customary carnal desires toward her, he was likewise what his Maw Maw liked to call “a good boy.”

So he hadn’t moved to flirt with her beyond a little playful teasing—hadn’t even sat next to her on the couch. He was keeping his distance, keeping temptation at least two feet away at all times. Still, she was tired, and he knew it.

Jagger smiled. Oh, she’d walked right into that one! The insinuative comebacks were popping into his head like popcorn tossed right into a fire.

Still, he managed to resist and simply answered, “Yeah. If that’s okay.”

“Of course,” she giggled. She looked past him to the window. “Though I’m not sure when you’ll be able to get out of here…so you might as well sleep in if you can.”

She stood up, and he smiled—again delighted by how cute she looked in her little “Beach Bum” sweatpants.

“You can sleep in my room,” she said. “I moved in first so I have what would be considered the master bedroom, I guess. It has its own bathroom.”

She was waiting for him to follow her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to just stretch out on the couch?” he asked. All of a sudden, he wasn’t sure he should follow Miss Tabitha Flanders into a bedroom. It might weaken his resolve not to pounce.

“You wouldn’t just happen to have an extra toothbrush, would you?” he asked. Naturally, he hadn’t planned on being stranded, and although he’d accidentally managed to have a change of clothes, he didn’t have anything else.

Tabby smiled, raised an index finger, and said, “Actually…I do.” She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment.

“Here,” she said, handing him a small toothbrush still in the packaging and a little tube of toothpaste. “Our nieces never remember theirs when they come to sleep over, so Chloe and I keep extras.”

“Don’t bother,” he said. “I don’t care.” And he didn’t. The idea of sleeping in her bed on sheets she’d been sleeping on was almost somehow intoxicating. His titillated reaction to the thought surprised him.

“Naw, it’s okay,” he said. He needed her to leave. His blood was starting to heat up. As he looked at her, his mouth began to water, and he had to force his arms to remain at his sides—to keep from reaching out and wrestling her to the bed to kiss her.

“Jagger, I cannot let you sleep in dirty sheets,” she argued.

“They’re not dirty,” he said. Reaching to his back with one hand, he quickly stripped his T-shirt off over his head. He almost laughed out loud when he saw Tabby’s eyes widen—saw her attention focus on his chest for a moment. Still, he figured the fastest way to get her to leave, and thereby save her from being attacked, was to make her uncomfortable in her own space.